The Philadelphia Eagles have mastered the NFL Draft in recent years. After clinging to veterans after Philadelphia’s first Super Bowl title in 2017, general manager Howie Roseman has wheeled and dealt his way through the draft to build another championship roster.
Roseman will walk into another pivotal draft next week, and his unique background that has helped fuel the Eagles’ success could help Philadelphia reload thanks to a different strategy from his counterparts.
Eagles' Aggressive Draft Strategy Comes From Howie Roseman’s Time as an Intern
Roseman didn’t have a background as a former player but joined the Eagles’ front office as an intern in 2000. After getting in the door, Roseman studied how general managers work their way through the draft, and he said that experience helped him look at his job differently.
“There’s an example of being an outsider, and looking at the league when I was studying it, before I got into the league, and then coming into the league and understanding that there were opportunities to get aggressive,” Roseman told reporters this week via Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith. “With that also comes risk. All those moves don’t always work out and it’s probably more conservative just to stand pat, stay where you are, whether it’s with players on your team or during the draft, and see what comes to you.”
The Eagles have been aggressive as Roseman has built another championship squad. It started when Roseman traded Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts and used the 2021 third-round pick and a conditional 2022 second-round pick that turned into a first-round selection as a golden ticket to several draft day trades that helped land wide receiver DeVonta Smith, defensive tackle Jalen Carter, and cornerback Cooper DeJean.
The draft day deals weren’t limited to prospects, as they used their supplemental capital to make a blockbuster deal for A.J. Brown in the 2022 draft. Considering the Wentz deal also cleared the way for future Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts to become the starter, the risk has often been worth the reward, even if Roseman believes it’s an unnerving experience.
“When you trade up in a draft, you’ve got to deal with the consequences of who ends up being there with the spot you move out of,” Roseman continued. “Sometimes you say, ‘I could have sat there and got this player.’ So you have to deal with that, too. For me, being aggressive has always been part of my DNA, and I feel fortunate that I have the people around me who support that.”
While it shows a gambler’s mentality, Roseman and the Eagles have become the NFL’s version of that guy in your dynasty league who seems to win every trade. It’s something the Eagles hope continues heading into this year’s draft.